Systems Science and Industrial Engineering

$13.2 Million Software Grant from UGS Enhances Human Factors Instruction at Binghamton
University

February 14, 2007

UGS Corp, a leading global provider of product lifecycle management (PLM) software and services,
and Binghamton University today announced an in-kind software grant with a commercial
value of $13.2 million that will provide faculty and students with valuable hands-on
experience using leading ergonomics and human factors applications. The in-kind software
grant is the largest in Binghamton University history.

UGS will provide Binghamton University with digital manufacturing simulation software
from its Tecnomatix™ suite of products, which is used by major international companies
to improve the ergonomics of product design and workplace tasks. With specific applications
for use in industrial and systems science engineering classes, the Tecnomatix virtual
human component software enables Binghamton University undergraduate and graduate
students to create digital humans of various sizes in virtual environments, assign
them tasks and analyze their performance. This information helps organizations improve
the ergonomics of product design faster and cheaper, and create workplace tasks that
are safer and more effective. This latest grant from UGS builds upon earlier support.
In 2004 and 2005, UGS provided Binghamton University with grants of Solid Edge® software,
UGS' industry-leading 3D computer-aided design (CAD) software, which has been made
available to all undergraduate and graduate students in the Thomas J. Watson School of Engineering and Applied Science .

"UGS' ongoing support allows Binghamton University students to gain valuable hands-on
experience using leading industrial software," said Binghamton University President
Lois B. DeFleur. "The advances that our University can make by bringing together our
bright students with inspired faculty and corporate friends such as UGS, strongly
enhances the value of student experience at Binghamton University . These kinds of
partnerships open many doors for instructional and research developments across our
campus and have the potential to forge innovative relationships with small to mid-sized
businesses in Greater Binghamton and across New York State." The grant is being made
through UGS' Global Opportunities in Product Lifecycle Management (GO PLM™) initiative,
which leads the PLM industry in the commercial value of in-kind grants it provides
at more than $42 billion annually. UGS' GO PLM initiative brings together five complementary
community involvement programs focused on academic partnership; regional productivity;
youth and displaced worker development; and the Partners for the Advancement of Collaborative
Engineering Education (PACE) program. The initiative provides PLM technology to more
than 860,000 students annually at nearly 8,400 global institutions, where it is used
at every academic level - from middle schools to graduate engineering research programs.
"This software will provide Binghamton University undergraduate and graduate students
with the same tools used in product innovation efforts by some of the world's leading
global manufacturers," said Charles R. Westgate, dean of the Watson School . "A wide range of Fortune 100 and Global 50 companies use UGS' software and solutions
so having our students gain experience with this cutting-edge technology will prepare
them to be leaders in a global work environment." Under the guidance of Mohammad Khasawneh,
assistant professor of systems science and industrial engineering, Tecnomatix tools
are also expected to create collaborations across the University's academic environment.
"

This software will initially be used to enhance our human factors instruction but
it has potential for so much more," said Khawasaneh. "The flexibility of Binghamton's academic environment will foster and encourage
unique partnerships across disciplines to serve both instructional and research opportunities.
We are also looking forward to the possibility of working with UGS to generate next
generation products to serve an even broader clientele." Tecnomatix also has the potential
of serving small to mid-sized businesses in the Greater Binghamton area and across
New York State through partnerships in Binghamton University's Strategic Partnership for Industrial Resurgence (SPIR) program. These projects would offer businesses access to services that combine this
industrial software and University expertise. "Bringing the right products to market
at the right time is one of the key business drivers for today's most competitive
companies," said David Shirk, executive vice president of Global Marketing, UGS. "Providing
software to leading universities like Binghamton University empowers knowledge for
21st Century engineers to tie into global innovation networks that the world's leading
manufacturers are leveraging to build the most innovative products. UGS is committed
to Binghamton University's outstanding students and dedicated faculty. UGS is proud
to build on its relationship with the University and manufacturers in New York and
beyond."